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Fresh research reveals a direct correlation between spending on wellness and longevity and levels of happiness. We now need to highlight the value of wellness and its impact on productivity and GDP
Politicians need to understand the value of a wellness-focused workforce / photo: shutterstock/Bernardo Naves
Research just released by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) shows that for every US$800 (€806, £694) annual increase in people’s wellness expenditures, happiness levels rise by 7 per cent and life expectancy goes up by 1.26 years.
These figures are the topline stats of the GWI’s Defining Wellness Policy, an in-depth 40-plus page report which we cover on page 104. It makes the case for using wellness as a lens to reshape government policies that impact personal wellbeing to ensure being well and healthy is accessible to everyone – not just an elite few.
Public policies are important for spas because they increase consumer confidence in wellness – a sector that’s still largely unregulated. They also determine what governments spend money on – from training and education to research and infrastructure.
We believe wellness would be higher on policymakers’ agendas if they understand the fact that the key to economic success and productivity is a healthy, vibrant workforce.
This subject has been in the news recently, due to statements made in the UK by Andy Haldane, former chief economist at the Bank of England.
Speaking at The Health Foundation’s Real Challenge lecture, Haldane said the declining health of Britons is stalling the nation’s economic growth. “We’re in a situation for the first time, probably since the Industrial Revolution, where health and wellbeing are in retreat,” he said. “Having been an accelerator of wellbeing for the last 200 years, health is now serving as a brake on the rise of economic growth and the wellbeing of our citizens”.
Policymakers need to understand that if countries are to run effectively, they need healthy, fit, engaged citizens with mental and physical resilience and vitality and that everything that reinforces this – including our sector – is to be encouraged.
The GWI’s revelation about the positive impact of wellness spending is an encouraging start to proving the value of wellbeing. But with the world facing so many serious challenges, now’s the time to present even more evidence that the wellness sector is also already contributing to economic success and GDP so it can grab the attention of those in power.
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa People: Marc Cohen
Leading medical, research, science and educational activities are all part of the new medical director’s role at the Peninsula Hot Springs Group in Australia
Menu engineering: At your service
Get inspired by the latest wellness services including a high-tech diagnostic circuit at SHA and a Zita West fertility programme at Bürgenstock
Interview: Stephan Wagner
As Saudi Arabia taps into tourism, the man heading up wellness at Amaala talks to Spa Business about what the major development is looking to bring to a previously undiscovered part of the Kingdom
Interview: Aradhana Khowala
The chair of the advisory board of the Red Sea – a Saudi development the size of Belgium – shares her passion for regenerative tourism with Spa Business
Sponsored: RKF: Dressed to impress
Following exciting new launches at Equip Hotel in Paris, including the new DresSoft line, RKF Luxury Linen is gearing up for an eco-friendly and fashion-conscious 2023
Everyone’s talking about...: Cold water immersion
A new scientific paper warns of the significant risk of cold water therapies. Spa Business investigates how operators can protect those taking part in extreme bathing programmes
Event report: Healing summit
Self-help and self-love were the key messages from this wellness event in Portugal, says Spa Business’ Lisa Starr
Sponsored: Comfort Zone: Effective by nature
Comfort Zone has revealed three new
products, including a new neck and
décolleté fluid, leveraging the power of
botanical bioactive extracts
Interview: Alex & Sue Glasscock
Editor-at-large, Jane Kitchen is put through her paces at The Ranch's new outpost in Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy and catches up with the owners
Event Report: Global Wellness Summit
The 16th annual GWS, held in Tel Aviv, Israel, homed in on the sector’s biggest issues following the pandemic. Spa Business reports on the highlights
Research: Wellness for all
A new study by the Global Wellness Institute provides a framework for businesses and governments to make healthy lifestyles accessible to all
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin Snowroom
The TechnoAlpin Snowroom made our Grand Aufguss Masters event extra special, says Robert Heinevetter
Finishing Touch: Cold call
Tumor suppression and boosting ‘good fat’ are two potential benefits of exposure to cool temperatures and swimming in icy waters, scientists reveal
Fresh research reveals a direct correlation between spending on wellness and longevity and levels of happiness. We now need to highlight the value of wellness and its impact on productivity and GDP
Politicians need to understand the value of a wellness-focused workforce / photo: shutterstock/Bernardo Naves
Research just released by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) shows that for every US$800 (€806, £694) annual increase in people’s wellness expenditures, happiness levels rise by 7 per cent and life expectancy goes up by 1.26 years.
These figures are the topline stats of the GWI’s Defining Wellness Policy, an in-depth 40-plus page report which we cover on page 104. It makes the case for using wellness as a lens to reshape government policies that impact personal wellbeing to ensure being well and healthy is accessible to everyone – not just an elite few.
Public policies are important for spas because they increase consumer confidence in wellness – a sector that’s still largely unregulated. They also determine what governments spend money on – from training and education to research and infrastructure.
We believe wellness would be higher on policymakers’ agendas if they understand the fact that the key to economic success and productivity is a healthy, vibrant workforce.
This subject has been in the news recently, due to statements made in the UK by Andy Haldane, former chief economist at the Bank of England.
Speaking at The Health Foundation’s Real Challenge lecture, Haldane said the declining health of Britons is stalling the nation’s economic growth. “We’re in a situation for the first time, probably since the Industrial Revolution, where health and wellbeing are in retreat,” he said. “Having been an accelerator of wellbeing for the last 200 years, health is now serving as a brake on the rise of economic growth and the wellbeing of our citizens”.
Policymakers need to understand that if countries are to run effectively, they need healthy, fit, engaged citizens with mental and physical resilience and vitality and that everything that reinforces this – including our sector – is to be encouraged.
The GWI’s revelation about the positive impact of wellness spending is an encouraging start to proving the value of wellbeing. But with the world facing so many serious challenges, now’s the time to present even more evidence that the wellness sector is also already contributing to economic success and GDP so it can grab the attention of those in power.
Katie Barnes is the editor of Spa Business magazine
| [email protected]
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa People: Marc Cohen
Leading medical, research, science and educational activities are all part of the new medical director’s role at the Peninsula Hot Springs Group in Australia
Menu engineering: At your service
Get inspired by the latest wellness services including a high-tech diagnostic circuit at SHA and a Zita West fertility programme at Bürgenstock
Interview: Stephan Wagner
As Saudi Arabia taps into tourism, the man heading up wellness at Amaala talks to Spa Business about what the major development is looking to bring to a previously undiscovered part of the Kingdom
Interview: Aradhana Khowala
The chair of the advisory board of the Red Sea – a Saudi development the size of Belgium – shares her passion for regenerative tourism with Spa Business
Sponsored: RKF: Dressed to impress
Following exciting new launches at Equip Hotel in Paris, including the new DresSoft line, RKF Luxury Linen is gearing up for an eco-friendly and fashion-conscious 2023
Everyone’s talking about...: Cold water immersion
A new scientific paper warns of the significant risk of cold water therapies. Spa Business investigates how operators can protect those taking part in extreme bathing programmes
Event report: Healing summit
Self-help and self-love were the key messages from this wellness event in Portugal, says Spa Business’ Lisa Starr
Sponsored: Comfort Zone: Effective by nature
Comfort Zone has revealed three new
products, including a new neck and
décolleté fluid, leveraging the power of
botanical bioactive extracts
Interview: Alex & Sue Glasscock
Editor-at-large, Jane Kitchen is put through her paces at The Ranch's new outpost in Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy and catches up with the owners
Event Report: Global Wellness Summit
The 16th annual GWS, held in Tel Aviv, Israel, homed in on the sector’s biggest issues following the pandemic. Spa Business reports on the highlights
Research: Wellness for all
A new study by the Global Wellness Institute provides a framework for businesses and governments to make healthy lifestyles accessible to all
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin Snowroom
The TechnoAlpin Snowroom made our Grand Aufguss Masters event extra special, says Robert Heinevetter
Finishing Touch: Cold call
Tumor suppression and boosting ‘good fat’ are two potential benefits of exposure to cool temperatures and swimming in icy waters, scientists reveal
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
